As the country prepares to enter a new five-year term of democratic local government, the Department of Cooperative Governance is embarking on a review of the journey of local government so far.

On 5 December 2021, the country will mark the democratic local government’s coming of age.

On Tuesday, the department in a statement said: “Many of the issues relating to local government are interrelated and require a coherent approach in addressing shortcomings, paving the way forward on the journey towards efficiency.”

The White Paper for Local Government, 1998, envisioned an ideal municipality that will strive to build a developmental State in South Africa, drawn from the constitutional and established legal frameworks to fulfil a raft of targets.

Among these was to provide democratic and accountable government for local communities, be responsive to the needs of the local community and ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner.

These also included promoting social and economic development, a safe and healthy environment, and encouraging the involvement of communities and community organisations in matters of local government.

The department said despite some achievements over the last 25 years, the current development trajectory is not delivering fast enough on the vision of the White Paper and the expectations of communities.

“The department’s review aims to uncover lessons from both the successes and failures of the system and arrive at recommendations that address systemic issues over the next planning horizon and your input would assist in achieving this,” reads the statement.

Source: South African Government News Agency